


The Shattered Looking-Glass

by marenstella



Series: ~ W O N D E R L A N D ~ [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alice: Madness Returns AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, American Mcgee's Alice AU, Hallucinations, Happy Ending, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith needs all kinds of help, M/M, Past Lives, Reincarnation, Wonderland, Wonderland is the Mindscape, everyone is confused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-16 06:41:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14806274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marenstella/pseuds/marenstella
Summary: A broken looking-glass put back together shall forever show its ugly cracks.Even so, a shattered reflection sometimes exposes more reality than the object it echoes… and appearances, as you know better than most, can be deceiving.So, now, Keith...It’s time to put your blade to work.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> For those who don't want to read Madness is a Place but want to read this story, here is a summary:
> 
> \- Prologue: Keith is adopted by the rich Shirogane family and Lance - their errand boy - doesn't trust him at first. They end up becoming friends after Lance felt bad for making fun of Keith's Wonderland.
> 
> \- Chapter 1: Katie becomes friends with Keith and is welcomed into their group during Shiro's birthday party that seems to have went wrong for some odd reason. A few months later, the Shirogane household is burnt to the ground, killing everyone except for Keith, who miraculously survives.
> 
> \- Chapter 2: Even after recovering from his burns, Keith is stuck in a coma that lasts many years. He wakes up from it ten years later but it still takes a year until he, again, miraculously, recovers. Keith starts working in the orphanage he's sent to, as payment for the memory-erasing therapy in hopes of forgetting the tragedy. The group reunites.
> 
> \- Chapter 3: Keith wakes up inside River Thames and Hunk saves him from getting raped by two fishermen. Keith tells him Wonderland is in trouble, getting destroyed by the Infernal Train and he must, somehow, save it. After saving Hunk's mother from being murdered, Keith gets knocked out and sent to Wonderland again. When he wakes up, he encounters Katie, who takes him to see the lawyer of the Shirogane family. After an argument, Keith passes out again. Katie goes to get help but he isn't there when she returns.
> 
> \- Chapter 4: Lance thinks it's better for Keith to go back to the Asylum after it was made evident he was still completely mad. After another argument, Lance realizes he should've been more careful with his words and, after he sees Keith pass out, he decides to take care of him from that day on. Following Keith trail of thought during his trips to Wondeland isn't an easy task but it's thanks to it that Lance realizes Keith's anger towards the explanation behind Takashi's death is justified since the truth hadn't surfaced yet. Keith comes back to reality and kills Takashi's murderer. With Lance keeping his secret safe, Wonderland is safe and merges with the real world, creating a place between sanity and insanity.
> 
> \- Chapter 5: Allura comes to London to check on her friends and finds out they're all doing well. She's surprised that Lance has adopted three girls and it's him of all people that takes care of Keith, who spends his time painting. As Keith starts losing his grip on reality, Lance writes two children's books about Keith's adventure's in Wonderland under the name 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There'.
> 
> \- Chapter 6: With Lance gone, Keith let's go of reality and locks himself up in his Wonderland. On his dying breath, he sees an image of his beloved next to him and he passes with the satisfaction of seeing Lance in the Wonderland he always wished to reach.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ## "Let the madness begin!"
> 
> ## 

 

Keith finished wrapping the pink thread around the yellow push-pin, connecting the last two pictures. Taking a few steps back, he carefully avoided the table and sat on the couch. After turning on his CD player and grabbing a cold bowl of instant noodles, the young man focused on the evidence he had gathered over the year he had spent on the desert, trying to reach a final conclusion.

_«Staring at the lions again?»_ A snarky voice was heard, right next to him. Now, the natural response to hearing a voice out of nowhere would be to get startled but, after eighteen years, Keith could say he was already used to the abrupt appearances of his odd companion. _«Have you possibly considered that this might mean absolutely nothing and you are wasting your precious time?»_

“It’s not.” The young man replied shortly, annoyance – with a small hint of fondness – clear in his voice. “I felt an energy pulling me to this place.”

_«I thought we had established your senses are not the most… **reliable**. They **do** tend to react to a lot **more** than everyone else’s… wouldn’t you agree?»_

Keith turned. “You’re annoying.”

_«Aaaw… How incredibly **cruel** of you~»_ The cat’s grin grew larger.

Cheshire had been there ever since Keith could remember; during kindergarten, the teacher had invited his dad to discuss his disturbing drawings of beings that made even his bravest classmates cry. He had to admit the feline creature was terrifying, with its sharp teeth covered in blood, its body covered in stitches and the mismatched eyes – one glowing bright blue and the other always spilling black ooze. The only thing that was remotely family-friendly was the white fur covered in blue markings, with the most notable being an omega symbol in the middle of his chest. Even so, Cheshire was the most harmless habitant of his mind and sass was the only weapon he’d use against Keith.

 “You can say whatever you want but I know what is and isn’t real.” The human looked back towards all the pictures and documents he had connected. “And what I felt **is** real. There’s something in this place……and everything’s pointing to tomorrow night.”

_«Tomorrow night, you say?»_ Cheshire stretched his legs and moved his claws. _«And what might that event be?»_

“I don’t know… but I’m going to find out.”

_«You seem confident for someone who’s about to do something **completely insane, all alone** … **too** confident, I’d say.»_ The creature’s ear twitched as he sat back up; a defying smirk appeared on Keith’s lips.

“I’ve managed without you lots of times. Go back to where you came from; I’ll call if I need you.”

The cat’s grin somehow got wider. It made seem like, underneath all the fur, the skin was about to painfully tear apart. _«Predictably rash.»_ It commented, honestly. _«But it's not a matter of **if** , Keith, it's **when**. Now… go back to your delusions. Tomorrow, we’ll see how much of reality you can still distinguish.»_

Keith’s eyes widened and he turned his head to reply… but Cheshire was already gone. He scowled and looked back at the board, quietly huffing “ **So typical**.” under his breath.


	2. Chapter 1 - Adapt, or Perish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ## "‘Seek and you shall find’ they say…but they don’t say what you’ll find."
> 
> ## 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to upload one chapter while I'm on exams so here it is, I guess! The next chapters will be a bit longer I hope since I couldn't let Keith reveal much about his Wonderland here... he has to trust the team for it to happen- that or....be forced to tell. We'll see what happens~ 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter though!
> 
> If you want, here's a song to create ambiance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja1VyMvx_8g

“Do we really have to do… this?”

“Yes, you must. It’s the most important time of paladin training!”

Shiro stared intently at Keith after he heard Coran’s answer. He could only imagine the fears and doubts going through his mind as he reluctantly placed the mind-connecting device on his head. The team would find out about everything in a matter of time but that didn’t mean Keith was ready to share his story just now. They had just left everything behind on Earth, been assigned to five different robot lions that they had no experience with whatsoever and now the fate of the universe rested on their hands. The pressure was nearly unbearable for him and for the others; he didn’t want to imagine how Keith felt, having to bear this new weight on his shoulders while being on the border of reality and the psyche. 

The five members of the team sat down on a circle, far away from each other and closed their eyes.

“You have to be able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron. Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron.” Coran voice rang through the training room.

 _«Then we have a problem.»_ Keith’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration at the voice of the familiar cat.

“So relax…” A holographic picture appeared in front of Lance’s head; it was the family he had left behind.

 _«Ha.»_ Keith’s fists tightened as he tried to block out the voice.

“And open your minds…” A holographic picture appeared in front of Shiro’s head; it was the castle they were in.

 _«He’d rather not.»_ Keith took a deep breath, shaky. Shiro furrowed his eyebrows a little, the picture of the castle changing to Keith for a second before going back to the normal.

“No walls…” A holographic picture appeared in front of Hunk’s head; it was good food. He smiled and licked his lips.

 _«You~? Open up~? Nice try, no dice.»_ Keith started to tremble and he moved his head to the left, trying to escape the voice.

“No secrets between paladins.” Pidge struggled to keep focused.

_«Oh but that’s quite hard to—»_

Keith’s eyes snapped open and he started at the cat in front of him, rage clear in his sight. “WILL YOU **SHUT UP**?!”

Everyone lost their concentration, the images disappearing at the same time. Shiro held his breath and frowned, mentally cursing whatever made Keith snap.

 _«Now you’ve done it.»_ Cheshire chuckled.

“Wow, rude?” Lance glared. “What the hell is wrong with you, dude?” Keith removed the device from his head and stood up. Coran and Allura showed up at the doors and walked into the room.

“Keith-” The black paladin called, taking off his head device and standing up.

 “I can’t do this, I-I can’t.” The red paladin admitted, shaking his head as Hunk and Pidge exchanged confused looks as they removed their head gear. This wasn’t like Keith.

 “Princess… isn’t there any other way to do this?”

“Shiro, you too?” Allura asked, frowning a little.

Shiro sighed, trying to find the words to explain without giving anything away. “Look… I know why Keith is hesitant about this and he has a legitimate reason to be like this. It would affect the whole team and-”

“Affect the whole team? Is there a problem with Keith?” Pidge turned around to face them, now curious.

“Several.” Lance rolled his eyes, resting his jaw on his hand. Once again, the mighty Keith Kogane got his way. “How are we supposed to be a team if you refuse to cooperate, huh?”

“Lance—”

“No!” The Cuban interrupted Shiro before he could finish. “I’m sick of this! It’s always like this, always was, even back at the Garrison!” He started to walk towards Keith. “Why do you do this? Why do you look down on everyone that crosses your way?! You’re no better than us, Keith! Whatever your mind is on, it’s not too difficult for us to—” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist, who turned his head to face him. On the moment their eyes met, the blue paladin felt like his head was going to burst into a bloody mess. “Ah!” Gripping his head, he backed away.

“Woah there, man!” Hunk ran forward and grabbed his best friend’s shoulders before he could trip on his own feet. “Wanna sit down? Need anything?”

Lance opened his eyes a little. “Ugh— No, not really, just—” His eyes widened and he visibly paled. Keith stared at him, his fists clenched.

 _«What is sought is most often found, if it is **truly** sought. However… there's an ugly name for those who do things the hard way. Patience and kindness truly are virtues, wouldn’t you agree, **Keith**?»_ The cat grinned, making sure to proudly show off his sharp teeth covered in blood.

A tall figure leaned over, his face staying just a few inches away from Lance’s. His ginger locks hid his eyes, maybe for the best since black ooze ran down the thing’s cheeks. _«Oh…it’s **you**! Good tea for everyone; we shall celebrate!»_

 _«It’s about time.»_ A black rabbit remarked, looking up from his watch.

 _«He is merely someone we once knew and loved. Time, changes us all.»_ The small pink mouse on the man’s hat said, untrusting, as she glared.

 _«_ _Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means not the same.»_ The feline replied, licking his paw.

Lance felt something pull on his leg and he looked down. Letting out a shriek, he jumped back at the sight of a child with green stitches pulling back her eyelids to force them open and her lips into a smile. _«Is there so little hope?»_ The kid giggled.

 _«Maybe.”_ He moved his head to the side to see a huge yellow caterpillar. _«But having failure as an epitaph will not do us any good.»_

He went to back away— _«SILENCE!»_ —but a terrifying voice froze him in place, terrified. _«…There is no method in this madness.»_ He didn’t want to look back; he heard what sounded like bloodied flesh being moved around and that was enough for him to know that, whatever was behind him, was not something to be messed with. _«A good guest does not overstay... A perfect guest stays HOME!»_

“LANCE!”

Losing the strength on his legs to stand, he gasped for air; thankfully, his best friend was there and caught him.

“Lance, you ok?” Hunk asked, genuine worry in his tone.

“I’m fine now but what the crow was that…!?”

“What was what?” Pidge asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “You just started freaking out for no reason.”

“You guys didn’t see that!? The cat with the creepy grin? The big caterpillar? The DEMON KID?”

Pidge and Hunk blinked a few times.

“Ok, yeah, maybe you should sit down, man; a lot happened and—”

“I saw them.” Keith averted his eyes when he felt the stare of his new team on him with curious and confused eyes. “But that’s because they’re mine. They’re always there; I… I have no choice.”

Lance scowled and went to defend himself but the conclusion Pidge reached and voiced out loud stopped him dead in his tracks. “You didn’t want to do the exercise because… that meant we’d see what you see and we’d freak out too… Keith, you have schizophrenia, don’t you?”

The Red Paladin looked away, ashamed his usual scowl morphing into an ashamed frown. The Cuban boy didn't want to believe it.

“We don't call it that.” Shiro started, looking back and forth between the other Paladins. “The doctors never found anything but Keith does see things no one else can ever since he was a baby.”

“But I know what's real, even if I do, uh..." He paused and thought about his words. "...talk to them a lot. That’s why I yelled; it wasn’t at Coran. One just… wouldn’t shut up.” He looked off to the side and glared at Cheshire – the only one who had stayed after Lance snapped out of it.

“Isn’t there any other way to bond without connecting our minds in this way, Coran?”

“Well… The previous paladins always trained like this but… we’ll have to make due.” Coran grinned, understanding the situation.

“Yes, you are different team with different strengths and weaknesses so it is logical we’d need to make some adjustments to our training.” Allura smiled a little, agreeing with her royal advisor.

“Well then! Let us move to another exercise! We don’t have much time, team, we’re at war here!” The Altean man clapped and left the room, being followed by the princess. Shiro smiled a little and gave Keith’s shoulder a little squeeze before they both followed the two aliens.

“All this time…he was dealing with hallucinations.” Lance said out loud, but mostly to himself since the words seemed too unreal to be true.

“He hides them well. If it weren’t for the fact he snapped at one there, I don’t think I would’ve thought anything was going on.” Pidge started to walk and Hunk kept up with her.

“Yeah… It must be really hard to do that, though, and it must be reeeal creepy too.” The Samoan teen shivered and as he was about to when he realized someone wasn’t following. “Lance? You coming or not?”

“Huh?” He looked up and shook his head. “Uh- y-yeah, yeah.”

-

“If you had just shut up, they wouldn’t know.”

_«They would’ve found out sooner or later; it was a matter of time.»_

“And in the time it would take them to realize, I could’ve found a way around this. They didn’t need to know; I can handle all of you.”

 _«Confidence and rashness are sides of a single coin. Allow them to blind you and you’ll put the whole universe in jeopardy._ _You’re not schizophrenic but you’re insane, mad, **not stable in the slightest**. Wonderland has been peaceful for now but you might need their help one day. You were thrown into this situation and whether you like it or not, they are **your** team now. Adapt, or perish, Keith!»_

Keith didn’t reply to that, which made Cheshire’s grin be replaced with an uncharacteristic understanding frown.

_«… I am aware trusting and making friends isn’t exactly your…forte. But we are part of you and letting them know we are here will benefit you. You don’t need to tell them everything, of course. Wonderland is your place and yours alone but you’ll have to trust them; they don’t want to bring you harm. Give them a chance… and who knows. You might be surprised with what you find.»_

“Keith?” They heard, accompanied by a knock. “You there, mullet?”

The Red Paladin looked away from Cheshire to gaze at the door.

_«You have visits…it’s rude to keep them waiting.»_

Sighing, he opened the door, even if someone in his subconscious was screaming to prevent him from doing so. Lance, wearing a blue robe over the pajamas, was on the other side; he had been definitely getting ready to go to sleep before coming to knock in the room next door.

“Hey.”

“Um…hi?” Keith raised an eyebrow, confused as to why he of all people was there. “You… need anything, Lance?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly, clearly confused with the situation. “Sorry for what?”

Lance rolled his eyes and groaned. “You know **what**!” Keith blinked a few times, still looking perplexed. “…Dude, are you really going to make me say it.” No response. The Cuban groaned and crossed his arms. “Ugh; you’re awful. I’m sorry because I was kind of mean, ok? I assumed you didn’t want to do the exercise because you thought we weren’t good enough for you. You were just… trying to protect us from… whatever’s going on up there. So I’m sorry.”

“I, uh…” Keith was confused; he didn’t know how to reply to that. When had been the last time he had received an apology? Had he ever? He was the one that had to apologize all the time; probably because he never told anyone about… **them**. This was an entirely new experience, and very strange one at that. “It’s… fine?”

“O-Oh.” Lance sounded and looked equally surprised. “Wait, really?”

“Y-Yeah. I mean… you didn’t… you didn’t know. And I should’ve said it in the first place instead of avoiding the problem since… we’re a team now… I guess. We both had fault, in a way. So don’t apologize.”

“Oh… ok… then?” The Cuban murmured, looking away for a second as he tried to understand Keith’s reaction; he didn’t expect this to go so smoothly. “B-But don’t think this makes us buddies though!” He pouted, looking back at his ‘rival’. “I still think you’re **really** pretentious.”

“I know. Lance and Keith, neck and neck, right?” A rivalry: it was new concept to him but it seemed nice, maybe even fun to some extent. Another new experience; he glanced at Cheshire, who was grinning wide. “Sounds about right.” Keith smiled a little before he leaned against the doorframe.

Lance’s eyes widened a little; he hated to admit it but his smile made him 300 times more attractive – which, by every ever law of the universe, should be impossible because of the freaking mullet… but it was common knowledge Keith would **not** follow any kind of rules. “I- Uh. R-Right.” He shook his head before he turned around and started to walk away. “Anyway, that was all. Night, mullet.”

“Good night, Lance.” Keith quietly closed the door and, as the Blue Paladin walked away, he could hear a quiet “ **Shut up** , Cheshire” coming from inside the bedroom. He turned around and carefully placed his ear by the door to keep listening. “He’s not my friend, he said it himself: he’s my **rival**. It’s different… You’re right though. It’s at least **something**.”

Lance pulled away from the door and rolled his eyes. “Man, as if he wasn’t strange enough already.”  He walked into his room, smiling, despite himself.


	3. Chapter 2 - A Fragile Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ## "You've suffered great pain, and you've caused some. You've endured deep grief and feelings of guilt, but you will be tested by a more wrenching anguish, Keith. There is worse to come. You and this Red King cannot both survive; you are two parts of the same psyche."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
> 
> If you want, here's a song to create ambiance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm4KpYqsufA
> 
> Next chapter: **Through the Shattered Looking-Glass**  
>  Stay tuned~

The fact Keith was part Galra wasn’t really shocking to some members of the team. Pidge, Hunk and Lance had known something was off about the Red Paladin thanks to many things – **especially** his raw talent when it came to fighting and his heightened speed and agility. Meanwhile, Shiro had been the first one to find out and, though a little more surprised than the other three, he was the most accepting of them all – he claimed to know Keith “like the palm of my hand” and the Galra thing wouldn’t change that.

Coran and Allura hadn’t seen it coming though. The male Altean – older and wiser – took it rather well. Though he couldn’t claim he knew Keith as well as Shiro, he knew he was an excellent young man with good intentions – the Red Lion was very difficult to please after all. The princess, however, didn’t take it so lightly, being bothered simply by his presence. No one truly blamed her though, knowing she’d eventually understand she was being unfair. Yet, unexpectedly, Allura hadn’t been the one with the worst reaction… that title would’ve had to be given to Keith himself.

On the day he came back from the Blade of Marmora’s base, he had looked composed. Looking back at it, Lance should’ve seen it as a red flag; as amazing as Keith was, finding out your mother was an alien who left you probably because of an interstellar war was **a lot** to take in. He didn’t seem affected at all by the revelation, keeping an unreadable expression during the plan discussion, during the meals and also when, at night, he walked past Shiro – who had been hoping to talk about everything – and entered his bedroom without saying a word.

The following day, Keith wouldn’t wake up.

Shiro had been the one finding him, thinking it was strange that he wasn’t up yet when everyone else had been. He shook his shoulder, he called his name, he had him sit up and nothing worked and his eyes wouldn’t open. Keith’s heart was still beating though so not everything was lost. He was quick to wake everyone up after checking if he was still alive.

Lance had never seen Hunk so worried in his life. Who would blame him though? Keith looked dead, even if he wasn’t. It was an eerie sight to see, mainly because his skin was as white as snow with an unhealthy hue to it and they weren’t used to seeing their fellow Paladin lie limb in a bed of the medical wing of the palace, where various Altean machines of every kind were stored. Coran explained he’d have to do a whole check up on Keith to understand what was wrong and so it happened; after a few minutes, the machine the Red Paladin was attached on gave its report.

“He’s locked.”

“Locked?” Shiro questioned, his tone showing his worry and confusion.

“Yes, locked… I hate to be the carrier of bad news but Keith’s mind locked him in it.” Coran scratched his head, staring at the monitor. He knew of cases like this – he had been most curious about rare conditions back when he was when he was younger – but he had never seen one like this himself. Allura walked over to him, her eyes skimming over the report.

“Does that mean he’s like – in a coma or something?” Hunk tilted his head. “But he wasn’t hurt or anything, right? Or did he get injured while he was there with good Galra guys?” He looked towards the Black Paladin, looking for answers.

“He did get a little hurt during the trials they put him through but I made sure he went into a cryopod to heal all injuries he sustained from the fights. He was there for five minutes and then it made him leave.”

“That is because Number Four isn’t in a coma of the kind you’re describing. Allow me to explain.” The Altean man started, turning towards the worried teammates. “This boy has an unusual mind; it doesn’t work like ours in any way. It’s a condition that only shows up in half Galra hybrids, and it is very, very rare; there are only three cases ever recorded in Galra history. No matter the race, human, Galra, Olkari, our minds usually work the same way. But a mind with this condition is…” Coran looked towards Keith. “…it can produce realities from scratch.”

“Huh?” Pidge’s eyes widened, baffled. “What do you mean ‘produce realities from scratch’?”

“In other words, while our mindscape would be a mess of thoughts and ideas, jumbled in nothingness. Depending on the imagination each of us has, the mindscape could possibly take form as your likes and dislikes like colors or a small place. Number Four’s mindscape, however, is a whole other **world** : with locations and sentient beings he cannot control.”

“So that’s why Keith wasn’t ever diagnosed, right? Because even if he has the symptoms of what we’d call schizophrenia, it’s not that, it’s something else entirely.” Katie concluded but looked at Coran for confirmation. The Altean nodded his head.

“But how do we get him out?” Lance asked, crossing his arms. “This is pretty cool and all but we kind of have a war going on. Without him, we can’t form Voltron.”

“Well, I suppose there is a way.” Coran started to hit a few keys in the computer. “Ah-ha! As I suspected, we still have the menteek.”

“Uuuuh-the what?”

“The menteek! It was a machine we used to observe the minds of criminals to see if they did the crimes they were being judged for or not. It has these helmets similar to the ones you used in your paladin bonding exercises but they’re a lot stronger… With them, you might just be able to enter the mindscape itself.”

Pidge and Hunk’s faces showed nothing but excitement and curiosity; being the ones most interested in science, something like this was a great opportunity to learn more about this extraordinary phenomenon. Lance didn’t look as excited as one would assume he’d be, though. Maybe before going into space, he would’ve been all over the idea of exploring the mind of the great Keith Kogane but after experiencing his hallucinations – or maybe his mind habitants? – first-hand, he couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Needless to say, seeing those beings again really hadn’t been in the Blue Paladin’s plans ever again.

“We can’t do that.” Their leader cut in, standing up and making the others look towards him. “Keith is aware we’re fighting in a war and he knows that Voltron is an important part of defeating the Empire… He will wake up soon, he wouldn’t let anything harm the universe.” Allura pressed her lips together, displeased with having to wait for Keith to wake up; waiting could harm the effectiveness of their plan. Shiro noticed. “Please, just… at least two days. Let’s wait two days and if Keith doesn’t wake up then, we can go in.”

Allura sighed, closing her eyes. Shiro was the Paladin she trusted the most and she knew how important Keith was for him. Besides, there wasn’t any solid proof that Keith would allow himself to be helped or even welcome them warmly into his world… It would be a problem if the whole team got stuck somewhere they couldn’t leave from.

“…Let us wait two days then.” It was decided.

That night, Lance couldn’t exactly sleep. He changed positions in his bed, trying to find the one that would put him to sleep, but to no avail; he couldn’t take what was happening out of his mind. Imagining Keith stuck somewhere between reality and the imaginary with was oddly worrying, mostly because of the figures he knew inhabited the place since they didn’t seem really **trustworthy**.

Standing outside your rival’s room was weird, especially when he was comatose. Knowing you actually didn’t hate him at all anymore was weird too. He figured out that, since he couldn’t sleep because of the situation, then visiting Keith and taking in the situation would be best for him – maybe seeing he was safe and still breathing would calm him down. What he didn’t expect was for someone to be inside the room already.

“Shiro?” The leader turned his head to look at the Blue Paladin and smiled a little. Maybe Lance should’ve seen that one coming but it was still strange to see the one he most looked up to sitting on the ground, looking concerned and tired. In the end of the day, Shiro was only human and he had people he deeply cared for.

“Hey… You can come in.” He said and Lance complied, finding a place to sit right next to him.

“So, uh…how is he doing?”

“Still breathing.” Shiro took a shaky breath, not taking his eyes away from Keith. “So I’d say pretty good? At least… it’s ‘good’ enough for me.”

“And how are **you** doing?”

That question got a chuckle out of him. “I’m fine, just a little worried.”

“Honestly, I think Keith will be just fine.” Lance leaned back, using his hands as support to not fall over. “That guy is tough to deal with; I’d feel sorry for whatever tried to attack him, that’d backfire **so** bad.”

This time, Shiro let out a laugh, result Lance was proud of. The Black Paladin seemed to need a good laugh. “You’ve got a point there… Keith was never one to give up; he’s been through a lot. He thinks we met when he was eleven but I actually met him as a baby... He had a mullet.”

Lance gaped in total disbelief, letting out a small gasp. “No way!”

“It’s true… our parents knew each other; friends from way back. We had to move when Keith was around two though and our parents ended up losing contact.” The older male smiled a little, reminiscing fondly. “I remember Keith always looked around, focusing on stuff that wasn’t there. It creeped me out how much he stared because I didn’t see anything, you know? Older kids tried to scare me and told me these stories about people seeing the dead and there he was, a baby reaching out and talking to a wall. His first word was ‘cat’.”

“Cheshire?”

“Yeah… at least I think so. There’s no real way to know.”

“Keith wouldn’t remember but maybe his dad knows something! Ever tried to ask him?”

Shiro was silent and then looked down at his lap. “He died when Keith was seven.” Lance’s eyes widened, the smile on his face quickly dropping. “Rough childhood… He was in the system for a while, jumping from one house to another. No one would ever keep him for long… his file has a number of complains about angry outbursts and sinister activity. Some of the families also weren’t really kind to him… he has scars to prove that.” He sighed. “When I found him again, I felt like it had been fate. The Garrison had picked thirty students to go to thirty schools around the country to talk about us and what we did. The choice was completely random and I ended up at the school **Keith** was in; I couldn’t leave him after that, what are the odds? The school was close to the Garrison so I was lucky in location too. I visited him a lot, we hung out, we talked… he **trusted** me. When he was thirteen, he told me about everything that was going on…you know…up there.” He tapped the side of his head and Lance gave a short nod, invested in the story Shiro was sharing. This was the closest he had ever felt to the leader and his right hand and he couldn’t believe he was now having a better understanding of the two figures that once he considered unreachable. “…It’s called Wonderland.”

“Wonderland?” The Blue Paladin furrowed his eyebrows. Hearing that name seemed to shatter the mood that had been set by the story told until now. “As in like… **Alice** ’s Wonderland?”

“I know, it’s strange. Keith doesn’t seem like that type of guy, right?” Lance nodded as if it was the more obvious thing in the world. “It’s his favorite movie…and his favorite book. Those things he sees take the forms of some characters from there.”

“Well, that explains the name Cheshire and some other stuff I’ve seen. Though I can’t really wrap my head around the fact the **great Keith Kogane** loves Alice in Wonderland that much. Kind of adorable though. Not that I would ever tell him that, it’d be off with my head.”

Silence.

“Was that… a reference?” Shiro raised an eyebrow and looked towards Lance, who smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

“Who knows? Maybe it was.” The Cuban teen chuckled. “…thanks for telling me all that, though. It’s nice to know more about him since he doesn’t open up.” He said, honestly.

“No need to thank me.” The other replied, smiling slightly. “It might not look like it but he’s very fond of all of you. It’s just very hard for him to say what’s on his mind… it’s always been overly personal, whatever goes on up there.”

“He doesn’t tell you what’s up?”

“He tells me things from time to time… Bits and pieces only, about the habitants or the locations. He’s never honest about what he sees on the moment though, probably because he doesn’t want to worry me.” The Black Paladin frowned a little. “…it’s frustrating, to be honest. I want to help him but I can’t reach him…” Lance opened his mouth but quickly shut it after his leader continued to talk. “And before you say anything, yes, I know we can with the Altean technology but Keith would be angry. There’s a reason why he doesn’t want us to see…and from certain things he has told me, Wonderland isn’t the safest place.”

Lance remembered seeing the hallucinations, deformed, bloodied and terrifying to anyone with a bit of sanity. It didn’t surprise him even Shiro was slightly scared of what he’d find on the other side…but now he was curious. “Hey, Shiro?” The older man looked towards him. “Has Keith ever mentioned anyone back in Wonderland with…tentacles?” Shiro visibly tensed, holding his breath and pressing his lips together. Lance was now sure that, whatever it was, it wasn’t the nicest hallucination of the bunch.

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s the King of Hearts. Keith never spoke much about him… he was really scared of whatever it is. He just told me it’s an enemy; a tyrannical ruler that took over Wonderland when he was seven.”

For a while now, Lance felt like this was an impossible riddle; some things were meant to stay unsolved and Keith was one of them, especially now with the notion that  **Wonderland** was a thing. However, something had just clicked in his mind, a glimmer of hope shining in the dark tunnel of disconnected lines of thought.

Madness was a place beyond the realms of reality, without any kind of sense or logic. Yet that didn’t mean its origins were lacking reason, for the King of Hearts had taken over Wonderland when Keith was seven: exactly the time he would’ve been dealing with the loss of his father.

-

As the third day started, Keith still hadn’t moved a bit. Allura decided it would be best to look inside to see whatever was keeping the Red Paladin from waking up and Shiro couldn’t find the selfishness to ask for the time they didn’t have. As the team discussed a plan –a way for Allura and Coran to pull them back into reality in case they wouldn’t be able to help Keith – Lance went to get his comatose teammate from his bedroom.

Keith looked oddly peaceful in his coma, mouth slightly parted and eyes gently closed. Lance sat on the small space there was left on the bed, staring at his so called rival in silence, thinking about what they were about to do. He didn’t want to invade Keith’s mind just like that; it felt very wrong, even if they were at war. The excessive pride he had seen in Keith turned out now to be simply walls the half Galra had built around him, in fear everyone else that reached out to him would eventually give up or hurt him; prying into something so personal – Keith’s very own world – felt cruel, like taking a sledge hammer and painfully breaking the walls down. Lance brushed off the black bangs away from his friend’s eyes and frowned slightly, internally apologizing for what was about to happen¸ what he didn’t expect was Keith opening his eyes in reaction to the contact.

“K-Keith…!” Lance asked, a wide smile appearing on his expression. Keith’s eyes moved, slowly looking towards the other. “You’re awake… Thank God, dude. We were—” The Cuban stopped himself, his eyes widening a little and his jaw dropping slightly, in complete shock as he saw tears starting to fall from his purple and blue eyes. “…Keith…?”

“…I’m…Galra.” Keith smiled; bittersweet. “I’m…I’m really Galra.” He sniffled and sat up, covering his face. “O-Of course my mother was Galra…everything makes sense now, even the fact she wasn’t there.” It didn’t feel real when Lance heard him holding back a sob; he felt a lot of things though: sympathy, sadness and even happiness because the great Keith Kogane was vulnerable, willingly letting his walls down in front of him of all people.

“Hey…that’s ok, though.” Lance said, placing a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder. The older of the two looked up. “You’re still the same Keith. You were always Galra deep down; you won’t become someone else just because now you’re aware of it.”

“I know… **They** helped me see that.” Keith looked down at his hands and sniffled.

“So… you mean that, all this time, you were in your world because they wanted to help you deal with the whole ‘Galra’ thing?” He nodded his head, confirming Lance’s theory, before he looked towards one of the corners of the room. The Cuban boy couldn’t help but look and he wasn’t really sure if he was disappointed or relieved that he saw nothing. “Who’s there, mullet?”

“Cheshire.”

Lance couldn’t bite back a little smile. “He’s always there for you, isn’t he? He’s a good friend.”

“He’s a great friend.” Keith’s eyes moved, following the cat as it got closer to them. “Even if he just teases me most of the time. You’d get along great.” The black haired started to pet what wasn’t there. Lance didn’t find it weird, for once. “I wish you guys could meet him.”

There was a quick silence but then the Blue Paladin couldn’t keep it in anymore. “There would be a way.”

“Huh?” Keith looked towards Lance, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “How?”

“There’s this method with Altean technology that would allow us to go into your mind…and in turn, your world.” Keith’s eyes widened a little. “We were going to do that today, to try to take you out of there since we don’t have much time to waste against the evil Galra. Allura gave us two days to wait but you were still sleeping today.” He explained, being careful with his wording. “I didn’t want to do it but—”

“Give me three days.”

“Huh?”

Keith stared at his teammate in the eye. “When this ever happens again…give me three days. If I don’t wake up by then…you can use the device, got it?”

Lance was in silence for a few seconds, taking in the information Keith had given him, but he ended up nodding in understanding. “…got it.”

It was unsettling, the way Keith was so sure his prolonged stay in Wonderland would happen again.


End file.
